Cybersecurity
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-10-15/cybersecurity
In recent weeks, some large U.S. financial institutions were hit by ‘denial of service’ attacks on their websites. Two months ago, the Saudi Arabian state oil company ARAMCO and RasGas of Qatar were attacked by a computer “wiper” virus called “shamoon.” Crucial system files were replaced with an image of a burning U.S. flag. Real data on more than thirty thousand computers was overwritten with “garbage data,” rendering them useless. American intelligence officials increasingly suspect Iran was behind these attacks. Last week, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called this a pre-nine-eleven moment for cyberdefense. James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Thom Shanker of the New York Times and Greg Nojeim of the Center for Democracy and Technology join Diane for a discussion of the growing threat of cyberwarfare.
Guests
James Lewis
director and senior fellow, Technology and Public Policy Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Thom Shanker
Pentagon correspondent for The New York Times and co-author of "Counterstrike: The Untold Story of America's Secret Campaign Against Al Qaeda."
Greg Nojeim
senior counsel and director of Project on Freedom, Security & Technology, Center for Democracy and Technology
Comments
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This is so ridiculous.
This is how we set up the fear that they're going to get us. Meanwhile it is we who are most advanced in cyber warfare, a major effort. In order to sell a major attack initiative, we need first to set up a threat so that we can justify the initiative as defense.
Soon after the attack on 9/11 Fox News Reporter Carl Cameron came out with a four part report that about data mining and cyber security. He reported that private Israeli communication companies had access to 95% of all Americans phone calls via U.S. communication systems. The Israeli based companies were Amdocs and Comverse Infosys. According to the report these systems had been infiltrated by another foreign source through some back door in the system. You can still access the four part report at Information clearing house. Can you please discuss if these foreign owned communication companies still have access to U.S. communications?
Former counter terrorism expert Richard Clarke who served under four administrations tried to warn the Bush administration that potential attacks from Al Qeada were a strong possibility. Condi Rice and Stephen Hadley would not give Richard Clarke the time of day up until I believe days before 9/11. Who is the equivalent counter terrorism expert to Richard Clarke now?
It is common knowledge that the U.S. and Israel have been attacking Iran's banking systems, nuclear systems via cyber attacks. Who could blame them for doing the same?
hey Diane is asking logical questions about the U.S. and Israel aggressively attacking Iran's nuclear systems, banking systems etc? What else should Iran do? Just take these attacks lying down? Diane asking logical questions about this. Did not think this would be the case. Generally she allows guest to repeat the unsubstantiated claims about Iran. This is has been going on for quite some time. Refreshing change
I think we started this cyber-warfare. The next steps are NOT to just develop defenses etc but we should take the lead in arriving at international agreements to ban these items. universally. Long term this is not where we have a competitive advantage. This is not an area where we can have a two tier system of haves and have-nots, like the nuclear weapons regime.
My reading is that it is us that are creating road blocks to such agreements. Let us not get into another sink-hole of spending. I hope we know by now that we CANNOT afford this.
Assuming the latest cyber intrusion is from Iran. They may well be sending a message that the US isn't the only one who can disrupt systems in cyberspace. Others have that capability as well.
Your guest mispoke when saying that the U.S. military can not operate in the US, because of Posse Comitatus Act. This is a common mistake. The Act does not prohibit members of the military from exercising state law enforcement, police, or peace officer powers that maintain "law and order"; it simply requires that any authority to do so must exist within the United States Constitution or Act of Congress. The Navy and Marine Corp are not subject to the act, but there is a Department of Defense directive that forces their compliance. The national guard is also not impacted.
If his point was accurate, the NSA would not be able to operate on the US soil, which it does.
What a load of propaganda. Preventive war = "redefining 'defense'". That's convenient. This is sickening.
this is WMD and Y2K combined Where WMD stands for Words of Mass Deception. Do you remember Y2K another complete boondogle for so called computer security experts! Is it a problem for sure but they are playing with the facts and realities to get us to pass laws and maybe even go to war.
FUD reigns but to compare this to a nuclear war etc is truly insane unless you are trying to scare (FUD Fear Uncertainty and Doubt) I am a retired computer nerd who has worked in the field for 40+ years ......
should the US government hold the vendors liable for not patching / updating the software? All big vendors (Adobe for one) is notoriously slow on closing the security holes...A new legislation would be nice.
We have in place a type of technology that could do so much good in the world; if it was used in a responsible manner.
And yet, this same technology is in the hands of very intelligent "maniacs" who could use it to bring about the Apocalypse.
A very scary, but possible scenario.
What a dramatic hypocrisy that Panetta would call attacks on the U.S. a cyber "Pearl Harbor" When it has been the U.S. and Israel who started this cyber war.
Over at RACE FOR IRAN former Bush administration officials Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett have an important piece up about what seems to be a new strategy being used to go after Iran which is to re-write the IAEA's Non Proliferation Treaty which we know Iran signed and Israel has not. RACE FOR IRAN
Archtype at least they started the show honestly about U.S. and Israeli cyber attacks on Iran. Israel and the U.S. opened the cyber attacks door. Maybe they want Iran to walk through. One would think that an equivalency test would be in place. The U.S. and Israel attack first then Iran has a right to attack proportionately.
To the guest. Are there any new laws of war in regard to cyber attacks? So Israel and the U.S. attack Iran. Are there any new laws that say Iran has the legal right to attack back proportionately?
Maybe I am being naive, but I ask the question of why would the critical control systems for power plants (nuclear or coal) and water supplies are accessible to the internet. Whatever happened to intranets where a self contained network was not able to accessed by machines outside the network?
Are there new cyber rules of engagement? Israel and the U.S. attack Iran via cyber warfare. Are there proportionate cyber rules of engagement?
"Mike Sergeant wrote:
Maybe I am being naive, but I ask the question of why would the critical control systems for power plants (nuclear or coal) and water supplies are accessible to the internet. Whatever happened to intranets where a self contained network was not able to accessed by machines outside the network?
October 15, 2012 - 10:52 am"
Good question, Mike, and you might also ask about Stuxnet.
Stuxnet did not come from the Internet, it was in the Control Program when it was delivered and Siemans put it there.
And did you notice that when the damage of Stuxnet was revealed, Siemans undertook an advertising Blitz detailing what great people they were?
Want to see some more Bush Kabal Bull Krap, try this??
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberian_pipeline_sabotage
American Companies sold ultra toxic Control Systems to Russia that destroyed a large piece of an important Gas Pipeline that the Bush Kabal was determined to destroy.
Monte Haun mchaun@hotmail.com
This show was a stunning display of naivete, probably real on Diane's part, certainly feigned on the part of the experts.
First, nobody really knows what the various surveillance organizations are doing, given how many there are, how large they are (NSA some 41,000, CIA some 17,000, 875,000 people with top secret clearances, etc), and how deeply secretive they are. Just think of the new Bluffdale, Utah, facility and ask yourself what it will be used for. I really doubt that either Panetta or Obama could get an honest accounting of what sorts of aggressive activities the NSA and CIA are conducting, including spying on Americans. And there have been five DNI's in the seven years since that role was created in 2005.
Second, and closely related, to the first, remember the old saying "cuis custodiet ipsos custodes" (who watches the watchers). Congress has abdicated oversight. President Obama is fanatic about secrecy, promoting classification and prosecuting whistleblowers (but not bankers).
Third, the US government has shown repeatedly that it is not some benign force looking out for its citizens. I have no doubt that there are multiple secret plans for how to extend spying on citizens, to move from monitoring of network traffic to planting spyware on each computer (e.g., root kits with optional keystroke logging). It could already be a fait accompli, part of the updates you get from Microsoft and Apple!